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| United States Patent |
5,509,852
|
|
Clark
|
April 23, 1996
|
Automobile interior ventilator with voice activation
Abstract
A system for ventilating the cabin of an overheated vehicle which takes
advantage of convection and evaporation as methods of cooling. The system
is voice controlled. The invention places a fan, separate from the
vehicle's air conditioning and heating system, near the rear of the cabin.
The fan directly connects the interior cabin air to outside air. Upon the
opening of the driver's door, the driver's window rolls down and the fan
turns on, drawing hot air out of the cabin to the outside, through the
rear duct and across the driver's perspiring face and body. After the
temperature inside the cabin drops to a predetermined comfortable
temperature, a chime sounds to alert the driver to turn the ventilating
system off. Alternatively, the system may shut off automatically after a
preset time period. Voice control allows the driver to winterize the
system, to turn off the chime, or to run the system for demonstration
purposes.
| Inventors:
|
Clark; Darrell (1041 E El Freda, Tempe, AZ)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
250288 |
| Filed:
|
May 27, 1994 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
454/75; 454/141; 454/162 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B60H 001/26 |
| Field of Search: |
454/75,141,162
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3943726 | Mar., 1976 | Miller | 62/2.
|
| 4497240 | Feb., 1985 | Nagatomo | 454/75.
|
| 4852469 | Aug., 1989 | Chuang | 454/75.
|
| 4904044 | Mar., 1990 | Gudmundsen | 62/236.
|
| 4917293 | Apr., 1990 | Fedter | 236/49.
|
| 5040455 | Aug., 1991 | Doi et al. | 454/75.
|
| 5054686 | Oct., 1991 | Chuang | 454/75.
|
| 5129192 | Jul., 1992 | Hannmisn | 49/349.
|
| 5222661 | Jun., 1993 | Wenhart | 236/49.
|
| 5238447 | Aug., 1993 | Weissbrich et al. | 454/75.
|
| 5259814 | Nov., 1993 | Weissbrich et al. | 454/75.
|
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 13216 | Feb., 1981 | JP | 454/75.
|
| 41204 | Mar., 1982 | JP | 454/75.
|
| 126712 | Aug., 1982 | JP | 454/75.
|
| 118518 | Jul., 1984 | JP | 454/75.
|
| 275821 | Nov., 1987 | JP | 454/75.
|
Primary Examiner: Joyce; Harold
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Etherton; Sandra L.
Claims
I claim:
1. A process for ventilating the interior of an automobile comprising:
rolling down a window on a driver's side of a vehicle upon the receipt of
an indication of the opening of a door on the driver's side of the
vehicle;
activating a means for conveying air from the inside of a vehicle cabin to
the outside, wherein the means for conveying air is located near the rear
of the vehicle,
such that outside air replaces the air conveyed from the inside of a
vehicle cabin to the outside, and the outside air passes through a
location where a driver sits to effect evaporation.
2. The process according to claim 1 further comprising the step of
deactivating the means for conveying air after a preset period of time.
3. The process according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
alerting the driver to deactivate the means for conveying air; and
deactivating the means for conveying air at the driver's command.
4. A process according to claim 1 further comprising a damper attached to
the means for conveying air to prevent outside substances from backflowing
into the vehicle.
5. A process for ventilating the interior of a vehicle comprising:
measuring a voltage of a vehicle battery;
determining a reference temperature value;
determining an inside temperature value;
comparing the reference temperature value to the inside temperature value,
and if the inside temperature value is greater than the reference
temperature value and there is sufficient battery power to operate the
ventilation system;
rolling down a window on a driver's side of a vehicle;
activating a means for conveying air from the inside of a vehicle cabin to
the outside, the means for conveying air from the inside of a vehicle
cabin to the outside being located near the rear of a vehicle, such that
outside air replaces the air conveyed from the inside of a vehicle cabin
to the outside, and the outside air passes through a location where a
driver sits, in order to effect evaporation,
wherein the means for conveying air from the inside of a vehicle cabin to
the outside is activated upon the opening of a vehicle door.
6. The process according to claim 5 wherein the means for conveying air
from the inside of a vehicle cabin to the outside is activated upon the
receipt of an indication of the opening of a door on the driver's side of
the vehicle.
7. The process according to claim 5 further comprising the step of:
deactivating the means for conveying air when the inside temperature value
is less than or equal to the reference temperature value.
8. The process according to claim 5 further comprising the step of:
alerting a driver by sounding an alarm when the inside temperature value is
less than or equal to the reference temperature value.
9. The process according to claim 5 wherein deactivating the means for
conveying air occurs after a preset time.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to ventilation of the interior of an
automobile cabin. More specifically, this invention relates to a system
with voice-controls for ventilating an overheated automobile cabin by
using convection to convey hot air out of the cabin, and by using
evaporation to cool the driver's perspiring face and body.
When vehicles are parked in the sun, heat can build up quickly in the
cabin. The seats, dash and other interior features begin to absorb the
sun's energy and radiate it into the cabin. With the windows and doors
closed, air does not circulate to remove the heat. In the desert southwest
and other hot climates, the interior temperature of a closed vehicle can
reach a scorching 140 degrees or more in a matter of minutes.
When a driver returns to his vehicle after it has been sitting in the sun,
getting into the vehicle can be quite uncomfortable, as the pent-up,
searing heat envelopes the driver. Because of the large volume of space
inside a vehicle, cooling the interior takes many minutes as the volume of
hot air must be displaced with cooler air. To speed the cooling of the
interior, the driver typically turns on the air conditioner as soon as the
vehicle is started. The air conditioner then works at full capacity to
chill the overheated cabin air, causing a severe load on the air
conditioning unit and the vehicle engine.
To ventilate the cabin of a vehicle after it has been sitting in the sun,
the prior art describes several systems to blow the hot air out of the
cabin. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,447, Weissbrich et al. (Weissbrich '447)
describe a system to allow hot air to rise and escape through a car's
sunroof. When the interior temperature of the car is hotter than a
predetermined threshold, if the door is unlocked or the ignition key is
inserted in the ignition, the sun roof opens automatically.
Simultaneously, a ventilator may be turned on to help push hot cabin air
out of the roof opening. The system is powered the vehicle's battery or a
solar battery.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,814, Weissbrich et al. (Weissbrich '814) describe a
system in which the temperatures inside and outside the cabin are measured
and compared to thresholds. If the inside temperature is greater than the
outside temperature and greater than the threshold temperature, the
windows automatically open to allow hot air to drift out. If the inside
temperature is greater than the outside temperature but less than the
threshold temperature, the windows automatically close to keep warmer air
in. When the interior temperature is less than the outside temperature and
less than a threshold temperature, the windows close and a fan conveys
relatively warmer air from the outside into the cabin. The fan is
preferably placed near the vehicle window. The system may run when the
motor is off or on.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,661 issued to Wenhart describes a system for
automatically cooling the interior of a vehicle by opening a window and
using the fan of the vehicle's own ventilation system to blow hot cabin
air out of the cabin's windows when the interior temperature exceeds a
given threshold.
As these examples show, the prior art is based on the idea of blowing all
the hot air out of the cabin, typically through the window or roof vents
that have been automatically opened. U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,240 issued to
Nagatomo describes a variation on these systems in which vehicle's
existing air flow system is employed while the car is parked and
unoccupied. The system uses the fan native to the car to circulate cabin
air within the vehicle or to introduce external air through the duct that
connects the cabin to the outside, via a damper. The windows are not
opened to vent the cabin. A power source separate from the vehicle's power
source supplies power to the built-in cooling system when the car is not
on. The temperature inside the cabin is measured and when it exceeds a
predetermined temperature, the vehicle's fan is turned on to blow outside
air into the overheated cabin or, conversely, to exhaust hot cabin air.
While the prior art may be effective in removing hot air from the cabin, it
does not take advantage of another method of cooling: evaporation. If the
cabin of the car becomes too overheated for the driver to be comfortably
seated, typically the driver will perspire as the cabin is opened. If air
is then drawn across the driver's sweaty skin, evaporation will remove the
heat from the skin and the driver will feel cooler. In the prior art,
instead of drawing the relatively cooler outside air across the driver's
face and body, the relatively hotter air from inside the cabin envelopes
the driver as the air makes its way to the window or roof near the
driver's head. This air flow has the undesirable effect of extending the
time the hot cabin air is in contact with the driver.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to improve the prior art of
automobile cabin ventilation by providing a system which takes advantage
of evaporation of driver's perspiration. Another object of this invention
is to provide a vehicle ventilation system in which the cooling effect is
felt immediately by the driver. Another object of this invention is to
provide a ventilation system which begins operation at the driver's
command, particularly when the driver returns to his vehicle that has been
sitting in the scorching heat. A further object of this invention is to
provide voice-activated controls for various system parameters. Another
object of this invention is to provide a simple., low-cost ventilation
system which can easily be installed in a vehicle during production or as
an after-market purchase.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention describes a system for ventilating the cabin of an
overheated vehicle which takes advantage of convection and evaporation as
methods of cooling. The system is voice controlled. The invention places a
fan, separate from the vehicle's air conditioning and heating system, near
the rear of the cabin. The fan directly connects the interior cabin air to
outside air. The ventilation system starts when the driver unlocks or
opens the driver's door and suitable conditions are met. The driver's
window rolls down and then the fan turns on, drawing hot air out of the
cabin to the outside, through the rear of the cabin and across the
driver's perspiring face and body. After the temperature inside the cabin
drops to a predetermined comfortable temperature, a chime sounds to alert
the driver to turn the ventilating system off. Alternatively, the system
may shut off automatically after a preset time period. Voice control
allows the driver to winterize the system, to turn off the chime, or to
run the system for demonstration purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-section schematic illustrating the present invention
installed in the bed of a sport utility, van, or other like vehicle.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the present system.
FIG. 3 is a cross-section schematic illustrating an alternate embodiment of
the present invention for ventilating the cabin of a sedan- or coupe-type
vehicle having a rear deck and utilizing an optional duct.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of an embodiment of the present device
installed in the rear deck of a car.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of this invention where the
system for ventilating the cabin of a sport utility, van, or other like
vehicle is denoted generally as 10. A blower 11 is installed near the rear
of the vehicle, preferably in a hole cut in the bed 12 of the vehicle so
that air from the cabin is exhausted to the outside under the vehicle.
When a driver approaches the vehicle and opens or unlocks the driver's
door, an electronic control module 13 accepts inputs to determine whether
the system 10 should turn on. When appropriate inputs are received by the
control module 13 and conditions are thus suitable for starting the
system, the driver's window 14 rolls down and the blower 11 turns on. The
blower causes the hot air in the cabin to be pulled out of the interior to
the exterior of the car. As the hot air in the car is drawn out of the
rear of the car, a pressure differential is created, causing relatively
cooler air to be pulled in through the driver's window. In this manner,
the cooler air passes across a driver's face and body, causing evaporation
of perspiration. Thus, the cabin of the vehicle is cooled through
convection and removal of hot air and the driver is cooled through
evaporation.
The control module 13 is preferably connected to the power window control
15, the power door lock solenoid 16, a door open switch 17, a low voltage
detector, and two temperature sensors. The low voltage detector and two
timers are located on the control module 13. A fuse 19 connects the
vehicle battery 120 to the control module 13. Upon opening the driver's
door, suitable conditions for operation are determined when a signal is
sent to the control module 13 to start a check: sequence. This signal is
preferably the driver's door 121 being unlocked or the dome light turning
on, although other indicators may be used. If suitable conditions are met,
the control module tells the power window control to roll down the
driver's window and the blower starts. The conditions for operation
include an acceptable battery voltage, an unlocked power door lock, cabin
temperature above a given threshold, the system has not been used within
the last ten minutes, the vehicle ignition is off, and the system is not
in winterize mode.
During the check sequence, the control module compares the interior cabin
temperature provided by temperature sensor 18 to a reference temperature
provided by the temperature sensor under the dash. If the interior
temperature is higher than the reference temperature, the ventilation
sequence continues. The temperature sensing means are preferably
thermistors, although thermocouples or other devices may be employed. One
temperature sensor (not shown) used as a reference is located on an
electronics board under the dash, and a second temperature sensor 18 is
located in the air conditioning duct.
Additional initial parameters are checked by electronic inputs to the
control module. The vehicle ignition must be off and the vehicle battery
voltage must be adequate to run the ventilating system. In order to avoid
draining the vehicle's battery, the control module is equipped with a
timer to allow the system to be run only after a time-out period has
expired. Preferably, the time-out period is ten minutes. The system will
initiate only if a ten minute time period has expired since the system was
last in use. This time-out period is checked during the check sequence.
In addition to these conditions, the control module may accept other inputs
to customize the initiation of ventilation system. Those skilled in the
art will recognize other embodiments for switches to trigger the start of
the ventilation system such as freon temperature sensors, pressure
sensitive switches in the driver's seat, or anti-theft signals.
Alternatively, the ventilation system may be triggered by remote control.
For example, the control module could include a receiver to receive the
remote signal transmitted to unlock a power door. Then, upon unlocking the
door with the remote control and subsequently meeting conditions suitable
for starting the system, the window would roll down and the blower would
start.
The window is rolled down by the power window motor a sufficient distance
to provide a suitable air flow. The distance the window is rolled down is
determined by how long the window motor is on, and is set at the time of
installation of the ventilation system. The smaller the air flow, the
higher the velocity and increased rate of evaporation, but the less air
flows through. The distance can be adjusted to suit the driver's concerns.
For example, a fully open window will have slow air speed and does not
cool the body as quickly, but more air flows through the cabin. Another
factor to consider is that the driver may feel safer from crime if the
window is only rolled down a short distance.
The size and power of the blower, the distance the window is rolled down,
and the volume of the cabin will determine the rate of air flow across the
driver's face and out of the cabin. The blower or fan may be one of
several known in the prior art. Those suitable include fans found in
vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers and hair dryers. Preferably, a centrifugal
blower with a wheel diameter of about 5.75" should be used in a sport
utility vehicle or like vehicle with a large cabin volume. A damper is
installed in the blower to prevent exhaust fumes from backflowing into the
cabin through the fan. The damper may also serve to prevent water, noise,
dirt or other substances from entering the cabin. The blower operates
before and after then engine has been started.
A chime may sound after the vehicle has been started to indicate to the
driver that the vehicle's air conditioning switches should be set to
positions which best cooperate with the ventilation system. Preferably,
the switches are initially set to a low fan speed and to allow fresh air
to enter the cabin. Decals may be applied to the air conditioning switches
to indicate these positions. After the cabin is cooled, a double chime or
second chime will sound to tell the driver that the windows should be
rolled up and the vehicle's air conditioning switches should be set to
second positions. Preferably, the switches are then set to a high fan
speed and to recirculate cabin air. The chimes may be disabled with a
proper response to a voice chip query.
The ventilation system will stop operating when any one of the following
conditions is met: a preset amount of time has elapsed since the blower
has turned on, the temperature in the air conditioning duct has dropped
below a preset temperature, or the power door lock is unlocked again.
Preferably, after three minutes, a timer sends a signal to the control
module 13 which, in turn, turns the system off. Alternatively, the system
may sound a chime to alert the driver to manually turn off the system via
a switch, also connected to the control module. FIG. 2 summarizes the flow
of the present invention's process for ventilating the cabin. During
cooler seasons, it may be desirable to deactivate the system completely so
that the system will not be falsely triggered by the heater. This
winterize mode is enabled with a proper response to a voice chip query.
The voice control used in this invention is made possible by the use of a
low-cost integrated circuit (voice chip). Voice recordings of menu items
are recorded on the voice chip and are played back upon command. The
voice-activation circuit is connected to the power door lock solenoid 16
and operates when the vehicle is not on, the driver's door is open, and
the ventilating system is not operating. Each time the unlock button is
pressed, the voice chip detects the voltage change, receiving each press
as a trigger signal. Upon receipt of an appropriate response, the voice
chip sends a signal to the control module to activate the corresponding
action.
Upon the suitable start-up conditions, the voice chip plays an introductory
message in which menu option numbers are given, the numbers corresponding
to the number of times the unlock button should be pressed in response. To
respond to the query, the same unlock button is pressed the number of
times corresponding to the option desired. For example, to select option
two, the unlock button is pressed twice. Menu selections for the present
invention include options to turn off the chime sounds, to winterize the
system, and to run the ventilation system for demonstration purposes.
Alternatively, the voice chip may be installed upon another existing
circuit so that the response button may be any other pre-existing switch
which is not being used at the time. Switches which are in an unoperative
state, such as when the car is off, may be used. In this manner, no
additional switches need to be installed in the car, thus reducing the
cost, and the car's factory appearance is maintained.
FIG. 3 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present invention. The
system for ventilating the cabin is installed in a sedan- or coupe-type
vehicle having a rear deck 31. As in the preferred embodiment, the control
module 13 is preferably connected to the power window 15, the power door
lock solenoid 16, a low voltage detector, and two temperature sensors. A
fuse 19 interconnects the vehicle battery 120 to the control module 13 and
the blower 11. The system's operation follows that of the preferred
embodiment and will not be repeated here.
The blower is in communication with the outside and causes the hot air in
the cabin to be pulled out of the interior to the exterior of the car. As
in the first embodiment, the hot air in the car is drawn out of the rear
of the car and a pressure differential is created causing relatively
cooler air to be pulled in through the driver's window 14. In this manner,
the cooler air passes across a driver's face and body, causing evaporation
of perspiration. Thus, the cabin of the vehicle is cooled through
convection and removal of hot air and the driver is cooled through
evaporation.
For convenience, the present invention may be more easily installed in a
sedan- or coupe-type vehicle by taking advantage of the holes that have
already been cut for rear speakers 42. FIG. 4 illustrates the present
device installed in the rear deck of a car, wherein the cabin air is
pulled to the outside of the vehicle through holes which were initially
cut for rear speakers. Optionally, a duct 32 which connects to the blower
(not shown) may be attached to a manifold 41. The manifold 41 is installed
between a speaker cone 42 and the rear deck 44, into speaker holes 43
which had been cut to accommodate the speakers 42. A light mesh 46 may be
suspended at an angle within the manifold to protect the speakers.
The objectives of the present invention are achieved from the various
embodiments described herein. However, it will be apparent to those
skilled in the art that various modifications to the preferred embodiments
of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of
the specification and claims that follow.
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